Etymologically
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serviens

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsɛr.wi.ẽːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsɛr.vi.ens][1]

Forms

serviēns m (genitive servientis); third declension[1]

Etymology

Used as a noun, it is the present participle from Latin serviō (“to serve, be a slave”).[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it as a noun from the Vulgate on, meaning a servant.[3]

Semantic evolution

In medieval Latin the noun covered a wide range of dependants: a servant or valet, a serf, a ministerial, and a warrior below the rank of knight, mounted or on foot (the serjeant); it could also mean a commercial agent.[4] British sources use it for an attendant or servant, for an apprentice or assistant, and, with de curia, for an official who kept the rolls of chancery.[2] In Eadmer's Life of Anselm one of the monastery's servientes sets out on a journey.[2] Venantius Fortunatus addresses a letter to lords and their servientes,[5] and a charter of Philip Augustus of 1200 deals with the lay servientes of scholars.[5]

Through Old French sergent, the Medieval Latin word is the source of the English word sergeant, first a servant, then an officer in a lord's retinue and a soldier.[6]

Timeline

  • AD 390–406 – The Vulgate uses it as a noun.[3]
  • 1020 – Charters use it in medieval senses.[3]
  • 1200 – A charter of Philip Augustus speaks of the lay servientes of scholars.[5]
  • c. 1200 – English has sergeant, from Old French, ultimately from Medieval Latin serviens.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A servant, attendant.[1][2][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A serf; a ministerial.[4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A serjeant, a warrior below the rank of knight, mounted or on foot.[4][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) An apprentice or assistant;[2] serviens de curia, an official responsible for the chancery rolls.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A commercial agent.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com